Biden Defends His Go-To War Story in Face of Doubts

'It was absolutely accurate what I said'
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 30, 2019 8:29 AM CDT
After Doubts Aired About His War Story, Biden Defends It
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019, at a town hall for his Democratic presidential campaign in Spartanburg, SC.   (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Joe Biden defended his frequent telling of a tale of bravery in Afghanistan in the wake of a Thursday Washington Post report that asserted the story never happened as-told but is a mish-mash of three different "actual events." In an interview later Thursday with the Post and Courier, Biden said he hadn't yet read the report, but he maintained he didn't get it wrong. "There were two stories," Biden explained. "There was one that relates to the forward-operating base in Afghanistan that I went to and a separate one where I went on the streets of Afghanistan where a young man pulled someone from a burning humvee." The Post and Courier asked if he "[conflated] details of those different stories?" Biden's response: "No I don't think so, but I haven't seen the article."

The paper kept pushing, and he maintained that there were two stories, one involving that humvee, the other involving a "young man" who carried a comrade up from a ravine and protested when awarded a medal for his actions. NBC News reports the Post's story determined three stories were at play: a ravine rescue that resulted in President Obama awarding a soldier a Medal of Honor; a Bronze Star given to a soldier while then-Senator Biden was present; and the humvee rescue, in which VP Biden gave a Bronze Star to the protesting solider. Should voters be worried about Biden's age and his "misstatements?" the paper asked. "I think it's ridiculous. ... The story was that he refused the medal because the fella he tried to save and risked his life saving died. That's the beginning, middle, and end. The rest of you guys can take it and do what you want with it." (More Joe Biden stories.)

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